The Eyes Have It
by RoyalBlue13
Summary: Post 'Secret of the Tomb'. A few nights after Ahkmenrah and his Tablet have returned to the museum, Jedediah can't stop thinking about something Octavius said while they were in Britain.


Jedediah shuffled his boot, unconsciously, as he waited for Octavius to come join him on the floor under their dioramas. It had been a few days since Ahkmenrah and his Tablet had returned to the Museum of Natural History, but something was still nagging at the cowboy. Something Octavius had said back in the British Museum. Though it had been years ago in reality, since they had not been awake until recently, it was still fresh in Jedediah's mind. _"Hypnotic",_ Jed thought, his boot still kicking under him. _He called Lancelot's eyes "hypnotic". Folks don't just use four-dollar words like that for no reason._

It did not help at all when Jed discovered that Ahkmenrah had brought Sir Lancelot along with him. Or when he learned that he would be staying in the museum. Permanently. In fact, it only fueled his thoughts more. Now, as he waited for his friend to meet him, he knew he had to ask. Just so he could stop thinking about it. Curious, Jed told himself. I'm just curious. He ain't never said something like that before.

"Hail, Jedediah!"

The cowboy jumped a bit and turned around. Octavius finished climbing down the rope they used and smiled at him as he approached. "How does the night find you?" he asked.

"Oh, I'm good," he replied, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "I'm good."

"Are you sure?" The Roman raised a concerned eyebrow and looked him over. "Something about you seems off. Did something happen in the West?"

"Oh, no, ev'rything's fine. You know, horses, sand, saddles, all that, um…"

"Jed?"

_Aw, to hell with it._ Jed surrendered. "Look, can I just ask ya something? Just outta curiosity?"

Now the Roman was starting to look worried. "Of course. What's troubling you, my friend?"

Jed's hand went to the back of his neck. "Well, nothin' really. I'm just...okay, ya remember when we went to the British Museum? Ya know over there in, um...Britain?"

Octavius blinked. "I recall it very well, yes."

"An' remember when we ran into Lancelot? You used this word to describe him. I was wonderin' what ya meant."

Octavius brought his hand up to his chin, clearly trying to recall. "I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific."

The cowboy shifted uncomfortably. "Well, it was about his eyes."

"His eyes?"

Jed nodded.

"Do you remember what I said? I'm afraid I don't remember."

"Ya said that he had...well it was kinda funny. Not like, 'ha ha' funny, like different funny. Ya see, you told me Lancelot had...a'right maybe it wasn't that funny. Maybe I'm just-"

"Jedediah." Octavius was looking right into his eyes. " Are you certain you are alright? You are acting, as you would say, 'squirrely'."

"Yeah, I'm fine!" Jed told him, probably a bit too loudly. "I'm just…'hypnotic'." He caved. "Ya said you thought Lancelot had hypnotic blue eyes."

"...Oh." The Roman was visibly confused. "I see. I think I vaguely remember that. And you wish to know...what I meant?"

"Okay, maybe that ain't it," Jed told him. "Maybe it's just that...well, I got blue eyes."

Octavius nodded slowly. "You do, yes."

"A'right, so what makes 'em different?" the cowboy asked. "Lancelot's, I mean. Than my eyes. I mean, what makes his so...hypnotizin''?"

Octavius stared at him for a moment, puzzled. Then Jed watched as his eyes widened and a slow, sneaky smile came to his lips. _"Ooooh._ I see now. I will admit, I didn't expect this."

"What?" Now it was Jedediah's turn to be confused.

"For you to be jealous."

The cowboy's eyes widened in panic. _"Jealous?_ A'course not! What makes you, I ain't, what are you?" Jedediah couldn't pick a sentence.

"Oh, yes you are," the Roman said in a sing-song voice, still smiling.

"I ain't!" Jed defended. "I'm just curious! Ya ain't never said that b'fore!"

"I have never said it or I have never said it to you?" Octavius teased. "Come now, Jedediah, if it is mere curiosity plaguing you then why did you not ask earlier?"

"B'cause!"

"Because you are jealous."

"I ain't jealous! I just - aw, ferget it!" The cowboy threw his hands up, exasperated. "It don't matter anyway. Just a dumb question." He folded his arms across his chest and turned away. For a minute, he considered coming up with some excuse so that he didn't have to be around the Roman for a while. The air around them was just uncomfortable now. _Maybe I'll just go back up to the West, say I gotta do somethin'. Then he can go find stupid Lancelot and stare into his stupid blue eyes all night._

"Jedediah," Octavius began, noticeably softer. "Look at me."

He did, but he wasn't happy about it.

"I have not referred to your blue eyes as 'hypnotic' because that would not be a fitting description."

"That's crazy. Blue eyes are blue eyes. They look just like Lancel- like any other pair."

"That is not true," Octavius told him. "Your eyes don't compare to anyone else's."

"...Huh?" Jed let his arms drop a bit. A jolt went up his spine as Octavius placed a hand on his cheek and looked straight at him.

"Your eyes are bright, almost like the Tablet's magic glow. The color in them is not a _hypnotizing_ kind of blue, but more of an...intoxicating kind. They get much larger when you hear of an adventure, and when you get behind the wheel of the car….and, I might add, when you see me. They are, as I said, like no other eyes I have ever seen." He smiled and said a bit quieter, "That's why I love it when you let me look at them."

Jed swallowed with difficulty. "...Oh."

The Roman laughed a bit, his hand still on the cowboy's face. "Does that answer your question?"

"...Uh huh."

"Then why don't we go find the car?"

"...Okay."

The Roman removed his warm hand from Jedediah's blushing cheek but quickly grabbed the cowboy's hand instead. Jed cleared his throat and they began to walk together. When they got into the car, Jedediah still found himself a bit distracted. His eyes kept glancing back to Octavius. Lancelot's eyes were hypnotizing. His were intoxicating. Now Jedediah was wracking his brain to find a word to describe what he saw.

Octavius's dark brown eyes, he decided, were warm, like what he imagined the sun's rays would be like. Like the way his cheek had felt when Octavius cupped it. Like the feel of the Roman's hand in his own. With that finally worked out and his mind finally at peace, Jedediah pushed harder on the gas pedal and drove off into the night with his favorite person.

**A/N: Thank you so much for reading my first "Night at the Museum" fic! But it won't be the last. :)**


End file.
